Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Presence of corruption in OST file may occur due to various reasons. Whatever may be the reason? Corruption of Outlook OST file is a serious concern which no one can ignore as it can pose major issues later on. The major problem that occurs after corruption of Outlook OST file is inaccessibility of OST data. OST file contains data of objects, such as contacts, e-mail messages, attachments, appointments, tasks, notes, journal, events, etc. Important e-mail operations cannot be carried out at the same time. These all are the difficulties that directly result after OST file corruption. Still, there is no need to be hopeless. Today, several third party tools are available in the market that are enough capable to perform OST to PST conversion. These tools have been specially designed to perform conversion of OST data into PST.

Below stated are some symptoms that are observed when synchronization of Outlook OST file cannot be carried out easily with Exchange Server:

Appearance of several error messages at a time when Outlook OST file in Outlook is synchronized with your mailbox on a server that is executing MS-Exchange Server.

Absence of some Outlook items, such as e-mail messages, appointment, contacts, tasks, journal, events, notes, posted items and documents from Outlook OST file or from the mailbox once a synchronization of OST file and mailbox is made.

Cause:

Reason behind the occurrence of above mentioned symptoms is a corruption of Outlook OST file. Some other issues related to synchronization of OST file is also the result of OST corruption.

Solution:

For solving the above stated problematic situation, you have to follow the below stated measures. These measures include:

Use of Scanost.exe tool: Outlook versions like Outlook 2003 and 2007 make use of an OST Integrity Check tool to verify the inconsistencies contained in Outlook OST file. But, Outlook 2010 does not provide any tool to solve errors or inconsistencies in Outlook OST file as of earlier versions. However, if there is an issue with a specific folder, then it is suggested to resync the folder in MS- Outlook 2010. Below stated are the steps:

Select Properties by doing a right click on the folder.

Select Clear Offline items, and then select OK.

Select the Send/Receive tab on the Outlook 2010 ribbon.

Select Update Folder.

However, if the problem still remains the same, then it is good to opt for a third party OST PST converter tool. Yes, number of third party software are easily available online. The best thing is that a facility of a free demo version of the software is available on Internet. You just have to download a demo version of the software. Demo versions help you to evaluate the features of the product easily.

One such tool is Stellar Phoenix Mailbox Exchange Desktop that is specially designed to convert OST to PST. Once OST PST conversion takes place by this tool, data of Outlook OST file can be read into PST format of Microsoft Outlook. Developed with an interactive user interface, the tool is easy to operate. There is no need to have a sound technical knowledge for using this tool.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Microsoft Exchange Servers efficaciously handle business emails and are put into service in various corporate sectors. Professional users are cognizant about the fact that Exchange Servers are not free from faults. By the same token, some users would require to access their mailboxes and data from multiple devices and locations. It is not expedient that accessibility to Exchange Server can be maintained every time, everywhere.

As a resolve, Microsoft offered Exchange users a perk to work on their emails and Outlook items even in the absence of connectivity with the Exchange Server. OST files are Offline Storage Table files that are the clones of an Exchange user mailbox and are stored on the local machine. Whatever changes are made to the user mailbox or emails in the OST file get updated on the Exchange Server mailbox by synchronizing the .ost files with the server.

OST Corruption

Though, it does seem like a piece of cake to work both on-line and off-line on MS Outlook without the shackles of device or location dependency, there is a flip side to the coin as well. The OST files succumb to corruption owing to multifarious reasons like:

Hardware failure (disk crash)

Power failure (dirty shutdown)

Abnormal Outlook termination

Virus attack or Trojan malfunction

Errors during synchronization

Resolution

These factors forestall the automatic synchronization of Outlook OST file with the MS Exchange Server. Such a situation of .ost file corruption calls for OST repair using Microsoft in-built utility 'Scanost.exe'. This utility is apt at repairing the .ost file in major cases of corruption; however, Scanost sometimes begets a situation of data loss, as it completely restructures the OST file and removes the items it fails to recognize. Therefore, it is admonished to keep a backup copy of the original OST file before running any utility to repair it.

As Scanost falls short to repair the OST file at times of severe corruption, a third party tool to convert OST to PST becomes imperative. Copious OST to PST Converter tools are available in the market that successfully recovers all the vital data from the corrupt OST files. Veracious third party software for OST to PST Conversion is “Stellar Phoenix OST to PST Converter”.

A staunch solution for OST corruption, this tool restores the original RTF and HTML formatting of messages. Prior to recovery, this software offers a preview of the user mailbox and items in a tree-view format. The newly created PST file can be imported into Outlook to regain access to the user mailbox and data. Crafted on the grounds of efficiency and user-friendliness, this software uses advanced mechanisms to recover data and supports MS Outlook 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002 and 2000.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

When you try to access Exchange server 2000 or 2003 mailbox through MS Outlook e-mail client application, you fail to log on to Exchange server database and one of the following error messages appears on your screen:

“Unable to display the folder. Microsoft Office Outlook could not access the specified folder location. The operation failed.”

The above mentioned error occurs in the Active Directory directory service when the Create named properties in the Information Store permission is not assigned to the Everyone group to the CN=Configuration, DC=Domain, DC=com, CN=Services, CN=Microsoft Exchange, CN=Organization object. A second possibility could be the corruption in .ost file or Outlook has some synchronization problem with Microsoft Exchange Server.

First, let us go back and find out more about Exchange Servers and OST files.

In a corporate environment, MS Exchange Servers are deployed as an efficacious means to manage business communication through emails. In the absence of Exchange Servers, MS Outlook users work on their mailboxes using OST files. The .ost files are exact replicas of their Exchange Server mailboxes. Whenever, the connection to the MS Exchange Server is re-established, the OST files synchronize with the user mailboxes on the server and all the changes are reflected in the current mailboxes.

But what happens when the same OST file fails to synchronize with the Exchange Server? The user mailbox data and all the changes made to it are rendered inaccessible for future use. When the user mailbox becomes permanently unavailable, the OST file becomes orphaned.

Both these hardware and software reasons forfend the automatic synchronization of OST files with MS Exchange Server. Outlook users are often left gaping helplessly due to loss of paramount data when the OST files are corrupted.

The silver lining in such a situation, is the recovey of all the user data from the OST file in a usable form. Liberating the vital emails and user mailbox data from corrupt/orphaned OST files is a third party OST to PST Conversion software. This is the best solution to convert .ost file to .pst and regain access to all the valuable data that is left on the OST file.

The internet is jam-packed with teeming OST to PST Converter tools, that recover emails, attachments, drafts, contacts and journal entries etc. from the OST file in the form of a usable PST file that can be easily imported into Outlook.

A veracious OST to PST conversion utility is “Stellar Phoenix OST to PST Converter”. This software is a top-notch, power packed solution that successfully converts .ost files into .pst. This tool allows to perform selective recovery and the demo version offers a preview of the user mailbox and it components before the actual recovery. Exhibiting a vast array of compatibility, this software supports MS Outlook 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002 and 2000.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

It is a true fact that without a proper Internet connection with Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Outlook OST file cannot be synchronized. But, in many cases due to various reasons like, down Exchange Server, OST file corruption etc. synchronization of Outlook OST file cannot be carried out. Non-synchronization of Outlook OST file may result into hectic situations. The worst thing is that non-synchronization leads to inaccessibility of data. Well, inaccessible data can easily be restored from a backup. In the absence of backup also, there is no need to worry. A third party OST to PSTconverter tool is a best option to use in such a pathetic situation.

For better understanding of the above issue, let us study this issue in detail. A friend of mine has a laptop with her. In that laptop, Outlook OST files are there. Laptop when used in office gets connected to Exchange. But, she is not aware about the fact that without the connection with Exchange, OST files cannot be used. She was quite disturbed after knowing that she has Outlook OST files but she cannot use the data contained within them without the synchronization of OST with MS Exchange Server.

The only way left with her to get out of this situation is through recovering the Outlook OST files. After the recovery of Outlook OST files, she has an option to convert OST to PSTthrough third party tools. Ample of third party tools are available in the market that can perform the conversion of Outlook OST file within a small fraction of time.

Through Internet, she came to know about Stellar Phoenix OST to PST Converter tool. This third party tool is fully capable of converting an Outlook OST file into a usable PST file. After conversion, data of Outlook OST file, such as contacts, attachments, appointments, calendar-entries, tasks, events, are recovered within a short period of time. Developed with an interactive user interface, the tool is easy to understand. A well described user manual and installation guide come along with the software that help to perform successful OST to PST conversion.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

No doubt, Outlook is a very efficient e-mail client and personal information manager. But, some times it may show some error messages that halt your work. Consider a practical scenario where in you want to connect/access some OST file with Outlook. But it fails with the below error messages:

Unable to open your default e-mail folders. The file C:\Documents and Settings\%UserName%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\outlook.ost cannot be accessed. You must connect to your Microsoft Exchange Server computer at least once before you can use your offlline folder file.

This situation arises when you try to access some OST file for which Exchange Server account is not available or the Outlook profile that created the OST file is being altered.

If you had altered the Outlook profile you can resolve the error by recreating the OST file.

Steps to recreate OST file.

Quit Outlook and all mail enabled applications.

Rename old OST file for back-up.

Open Outlook and connect it with the Exchange Server.

New OST file will be created automatically.

But, in case the Exchange Server account is not available for the OST file (this may happen in case where in you had left your job and have no rights to access Exchange Server mailbox). You need to convert OST file to PST file to access its contents. There will be two cases and you can recover OST file accordingly.

Case1: You have access to the system on which you were accessing your mails and the Outlook profile that created the OST file is not being altered.

Resolution:

You can Export the OST file to PST file using Import/Export function from File menu of Outlook by opening Outlook in off-line mode.

You can also try system restore. Go back a few days and restore OST to PST file.

Case2: If you can not access the system on which the Outlook profile for the OST file is available and you only have the OST file along with you.

Resolution:

In this case you need to perform manual OST PST conversion for which you need to use third party convert .ost to .pst tool. After successfully converting .ost to .pst file, import the resulting PST file in Outlook.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Corruption of an Outlook OST file is fairly a common occurrence. OST file goes into a corruption state due to various factors. These factors include, unexpected shutdown of Microsoft Outlook, malicious virus, synchronization error, power outage, network connection failure, failure related to data storage, etc. All these reasons directly result into corruption of OST file. Anyways, the bad effect of the OST corruption is the inaccessibility of data. It becomes impossible to use an Outlook application as OST file is an important part of it. Even after knowing this bitter fact, Outlook application is used by large number of users. It is true that OST file is prone to corruption, but it is possible to overcome the bad effect that is inaccessibility of data with the aid of a latest backup.

However, if backup is not updated or maintained, then a help from a reliable third party tool proves beneficial. Ample of software are available in the market. Out of them, Stellar Phoenix MailboxExchange Desktop is one of them.

This tool is ruckus free solution to convert OST to PSTwithin small amount of time.The tool provides a facility of a free demo version for the evaluation of the overall features of the tool. In demo version, all the recovered data of OST objects, such as contacts, attachments, appointments, journal, tasks, events, calendar-entries, etc can be previewed. But, it does not permit to save the recovered data. This facility proves quite good especially at times of doing selection of any third party tool. Demo version is the best option to gain some knowledge about the product and its features.

Some of the key features of Stellar Phoenix Mailbox Exchange Desktop are as follows:

The tool recovers OST objects and performs conversion of OST data into PST.

It employs advanced scan if OST data cannot be recovered through normal scan.

It performs restoration of the formatting of RTF and HTML messages.

Developed with interactive user interface, the tool is easy to operate.

It performs recovery of OST files created in MS-Outlook 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002, and 2000.

Friday, October 7, 2011

An Outlook file is the most responsible reason for the Microsoft Outlook application to gain a remarkable performance. An Outlook OST file permits you to access the Outlook data even if there is unreliable Internet connectivity. As soon as connection with Exchange Server is made, whole data of an OST file gets synchronized easily. But, if due to any reasons, connection with Exchange Server cannot be made, then non-synchronization of OST data takes place and results into inaccessibility of data. So, in such situation a help from a third party tool to perform OST PST conversion becomes only hope.

In respect to above issue, consider a practical scenario. An error message gets received on the computer screen when starting Microsoft Outlook application. That, error message appears to be like this:

“Cannot open your default email folders. The file xxxx.ost is not an offline folder file.”

‘xxxx.ost’ refers to the name of the OST file created by Microsoft Outlook when it is working with Exchange mailbox offline. It might be possible that you may not be familiar with the file as it is created implicitly.

Cause:
Above error message is caused because of the following two reasons. These reasons include:

Corrupt or damaged Outlook OST file, and cannot be identified by Microsoft Outlook. This is the reason, Outlook throws the above stated error message.

An Outlook OST file is linked with a mailbox on an Exchange Server. If due to any of the reasons, MS-Outlook fails to access the linked Exchange mailbox or start synchronizing the mailbox with the offline folders in the Outlook OST file.

Solution:
For solving the above stated erroneous situation, and to access the inaccessible data first of all, you have to follow the below steps:

Find the erroneous Outlook OST file.

Recover the offline data in the Outlook OST file.

Perform backup of an Outlook OST file.

Perform removal and change the name of the problematic original Outlook OST file.

Solve the error.

However, if no proper results get found, then it is advised for you to opt for a third party OST to PST converter tool. The main job of these third party tools is to convert OST to PST. One good thing is that there is no need to have sound technical skills for doing conversion. These third party tools have read-only nature, and effective conversion capabilities. Developed with simple graphical user interface, this tool is simple and easy to operate. One of the tools that have been specially designed for conversion of Outlook OST data into PST is a Stellar Phoenix Mailbox Exchange Desktop. Results produced are quite good.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Outlook uses two types of files to store mailbox data on your local system. One is the OST file(offline storage table) other is the PST file(personal storage table). OST file is used when you configure Outlook to work in offline mode. All offline work is being stored in OST file and gets synchronized with the Exchange Server when Internet connection resumes.

Some times while synchronization you may get the error message:

Unable to expand the folder. The set of folders could not be opened. Errors could have been detected in the file xxxx.ost. Quit all mail-enabled applications, and then use the Inbox Repair Tool.
Getting this error means your there is some issue with your OST file and it could not get properly synchronized with the Exchange Server. The reason behind OST file corruption may be one of the following:

OST gets infected by a virus.

Corruption of Exchange Server Database

Exchange Server crash

Deletion of mailbox from the Exchange Server

Resolution: As stated in the error message, quit all mail enabled applications that can use OST file.

Find the OST file : A detailed explanation of where to find Outlook OST file

Run the Inbox Repair tool (scanpst.exe) to repair the OST file.

Recover the repaired items.

In some scenarios scanpst.exe does not repair ost fie this is due to the fact that this tool does not work in complex cases of OST file corruption. If this method fails you should try third party ost recovery tool that convert ost to pst file. Such tools are capable of converting ost to pst file even in highest degree of OST file corruption and able to recover all components of .ost file such as emails, attachments, contacts, calendar entries, notes tasks etc. Once you get the converted PST file you can save it to any disk or storage media and can open it directly with Outlook.

Monday, August 15, 2011

'Cached Exchange Mode' comes into the list of main features of Microsoft Outlook. Through this feature, you can work even in offline mode. A local copy of MS-Exchange mailbox is created that is used in Cached Exchange mode. This local copy of Outlook permits you to work in offline mode. Whole data of Outlook components can't be accessed. Any changes done in the Outlook components get automatically reflected in online mode, once a connection is made with the Exchange Server. But at times, synchronization of OST file with Exchange Server fails. Thus, overall data of OST file becomes unapproachable and you come across a huge data loss situations. In order to overcome such situations, you have an option of a third party OST to PST conversion tools.

Below mentioned are the few cases in which synchronization cannot be carried out or fails. These are as follows:

Corruption of Exchange database.

Deletion of mailbox.

Deletion of mailbox account.

Corruption of mailbox due to corrupt Exchange Server.

Updation of user profile on the Exchange Server.

Corruption of mailbox because of malicious virus.

In this section of article, let us study that why it becomes necessary to convert OST file to a PST file?
As discussed earlier, that due to some reasons, proper synchronization cannot be carried out. Hence, data of Outlook OST file becomes totally unapproachable. In order to gain access of inaccessible data, a need arises to convert OST data to PST file. This conversion can be done effectively with the help of a third party convert ost pst tools.

Several third party tools are available. Each software has some different feature that makes it unique from others. Such tools are readily available on Internet. Just make a simple search. It is a better alternative rather than facing data loss problem. Once a conversion is done, whole data of Outlook OST file, such as contacts, attachments, appointments, journal, tasks, events, and e-mail messages become accessible. For using these tools, you do not need to have sound technical skills.

Stellar Phoenix Mailbox Exchange Desktop is such a self-explanatory tool that successfully converts OST data into PST within a few simple clicks. OST data remains unaffected after the conversion. It performs the advance scan if the normal scan fails to recover OST data. It can be installed on Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000. The demo version of the tool is available.

Monday, April 11, 2011

At times, synchronization of Outlook with Exchange Server cannot be carried out easily and effectively. Different error messages appear in the application event log containing information about the issues. All the data of Outlook OST file becomes no more readable just because of non-synchronization. The problem is really big and there are numerous factors responsible for the same. Whatever may be the reason, in such situation, the primary concern is to recover the OST data. The best and an easy way is to simply convert OST to PST with the help of any third party ost recovery tool.

Imagine a situation, where you face synchronization issues of Outlook and Exchange Server. The Outlook is executing in the cached Exchange mode. You failed to synchronize the OST file with Exchange Server and received the following information in the synchronization log:

Cause:
Some of the causes that are responsible for the occurrence of above error message are as follows:

Unavailability of MS-Exchange.

Issues related to network.

Enabled anti-virus software.

Incorrect profile settings.

Corrupt or damaged OST file.

Solution:
To overcome such issues, and to access OST data effectively, you are required to follow the below steps:

Be sure about the availability of Microsoft Exchange Server.

Resolve all the issues related to network.

Do not enable anti-virus software.

Correct all the profile settings.

However, if the same problem still persists, then it is better to opt for a third party convert ost to pst tool. Such third party tools easily converts OST data into PST. Execution of these tools do not demand sound technical skills and any normal user can operate the tools just by reading the instructions.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

An Outlook Offline Folder (.ost file) allows users to access Exchange mailbox data even in offline mode and then synchronize the changes at next secure connection with Microsoft Exchange Server. This efficiency of Outlook is quite useful in scenarios of low or inappropriate connectivity. But similar to other files, an OST file can also get corrupt. Such situations necessitate that you either restore from backup or use a Convert OST tool that retains the capability of converting a corrupt OST to PST file and thus recover ost file.

Following is an instance of such probable events in Microsoft Outlook. Consider a user using Microsoft Outlook 2003. At one point of time, it might come across the below error message:

“The file OST_File_Path\outlook.ost is already in use by the maximum number of applications. Close some of the applications, and then try again.”

Outlook user receives this error repeatedly.

Cause :

The above error is encountered due to following possible reasons:

As suggested by error message, Outlook OST file is being accessed by different applications.

You are trying to access a corrupted OST file.

Solution :

Below are the solutions to the above discussed issue:

If the file is opened by various other proceses, you need to close those programs. Restarting the computer should completely resolve this issue, if this is the only reason.

Microsoft Outlook installation includes a utility called OST Integrity Tool that can be used to correct corruption problems with OST. To run the tool, follow the below steps:

Exit Outlook.

Click Start | Run and type the following path in open box:

drive:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\LocaleID\scanost.exe

Where, LocaleID is the local identifier of your MS Office installation.

Click OK and click 'Scan all folders'

Select 'Repair errors' check box and click 'Begin Scan'

If OST Integrity tool doesn't resolve OST file corruption, you need to use a third party tool that can repair and later Convert OST to PST. The file converted in PST can be directly used within Outlook. A Convert OST tool is easy to use and can run safe scanning procedures to extract data from Outlook offline folders.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Sometimes we encrypt our OST file with password to authenticate the access to the important or confidential data saved in the OST file. As a particular OST file stores important emails or data and this is the only way to ensure that only authorized users can access and work on the OST file. Sometimes it happens that we encrypt an OST file with a password and forget it when try to access it later.

The problem with the encrypted OST file occurs at the time of performing OST PST conversion. As many of the convert ost to pst tools available are not able to convert the password protected or encrypted Outlook OST to PST file. One should be very careful while using any 3rd party software, it should not intact the original file and demo version should provide the 100% preview of required result with WYSWYG approach in both full and demo version of the software.

Convert OST PST has the resolution of such complexity, as it is an efficient and easy to use tool to convert password protected or encrypted Outlook OST to PST file. Advance Convert OST to PST tool effectively convert Outlook ost to pst and supports Microsoft Outlook 2010, 2010, 2003, 2002 and compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

MS Exchange Server and MS Outlook collectively provides an efficient and in-demand e-communication environment to the corpoate as well as home users all over the world. But, Instead of globally accepted the occurance of various errors hits the communication channel of the users.

Consider a practicle situation wherein you try to get connect with MS Excahnge Server 2003 via MS Outlook client, but it results an error meassage:
"abode the users"
"Exchange is currently in recovery mode. You can either connect to your Exchange server through the network, work offline, or cancel this logon"

Reasons of occurance of above error message :

Cached Exchange Mode is enabled and running
Client mailbox has been migrated to another Exchange Server version

In any of the above situations the authentication key created for the mailbox does not match with the OST file. To resolve this issue perform the following steps.

In first case where Cached exchange mode is enabled and running resolve the situation by disabling the Cached Exchange Mode, To disable the Cached Exchange mode, follow the instructions:

1. Go to Tools menu >>Email Accounts >> View or change existing Email Accounts. Click Next to continue
2. In Outlook processes e-mail for these accounts in the following order list, select the Change option
3. Disable the Use Cached Exchange Mode option under Microsoft Exchange Server
4. Restart Outlook

In case where mailbox has been migrated to another version of server you can resolve the issue by creating new Outlook profile. Follow below mentioned steps to create new Outlook profile.

In this case, you can not access your previous mails and other data that is stored in your previous mailbox. To recover and access the emails and data on previous mailbox, you need to convert OST to PST file by using some advanced third party ost to pst converter such as Stellar Phoenix Convert OST PST. This OST to PST tool scan the entire .ost file to repair and convert OST to PST file, the resulting .PST(personal storage) file is directly accessible with Outlook. Convert OST to PST tool is very easy to use and has the ability to convert password protected or encrypted OST file components. The tool is compatible with MS Outlook 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Migration of Exchange mailbox can be done with the ExProfre.exe tool. But at times, when the ExProfre.exe tool migrates the Exchange Server user profile, it results in numerous synchronization problems. Synchronization error messages appear in the event log. In such pathetic situations, you face problems while converting OST file into PST file. To overcome these situations a third-party OST to PST converter is needed. With the help of a converter, you are able to convert OST to PST with much ease.Let's discuss what kind of synchronization problems occur when you use Exprofre.exe (Exchange Profile Update Tool) to migrate a user profile of Microsoft Exchange Server:Numerous synchronization errors appear on screen. You can see these errors in synchronization log.Synchronization of organizational forms does not occur. As a result, messages requiring organizational form get displayed without form data. Synchronization of security settings of MS-Outlook doesn't occur So, if new public folder applies new security settings, then these settings remain unavailable.Synchronization of favorite folders of Public Folder cannot be done. All the Items that are contained in that folder remain unsynchronized.Synchronization log contains the below events in it:

Root of the issue:Above problem occurs due to entryid values. Entyrid values are the values that MS-Outlook application uses to locate public folders. But the values get changed when you migrate mailbox. OST file do not get updated using ExProfre.exe tool. Thus, new entry id values are not found by the OST files. Resolution:You can easily disregard this issue if the below conditions are true:Organizational forms are not used by the clients.There is no need for customized security settings of Outlook.Favorites stored in public folder are not used by the clients.

Otherwise convert outlook ost to pst file manually and then connect it to MS-Outlook profile. It is possible to use a third party OST to PST converter tool. With the aid of these tools, you can Convert OST to PST data easily and quickly. Your unusable OST file gets converted into usable PST file.